Transformers G1
by Applepye
Summary: I really liked what Beast Wars did for the TF Universe. I liked the spark and how they were in a protoform before they got their form. They also introduced the concept of sexual interactions and lineage. I wanted to put purpose to females, explore more with the protoforms & sparks, and reproduction. I tried this over on DA and got nothing so I decided to try it here.
1. Chapter 1

Wheeljack was alone, looking through the Ark computer room. He would remove panels to check the severity of the damage to the systems. The crash had left several systems beyond repair and they needed to be replaced. He just hoped that they will be able to find the materials needed to do so. He got down on the floor to open the access hatch under Teletran only to have an arm flop out. He paused. All Autobots have been accounted for.

Getting down lower so that he could get a better view he felt his spark pulse when he saw the rest of the body that the arm was attached to. "A female?" he asked no one. He pulled her free and laid her on the ground then slid open her front plate. He could see the glow of her spark, "You're still alive."

Like the rest, she was in stasis mode. They had crash landed on a strange organic planet and went off line for an unknown number of cycles, when Decepticons had attacked. A seismic event brought enough systems back online to revive some from each team.

The Decepticons took as many of their kind as they could and sadly this included their leader Megatron. The rest were kept in stasis and locked away. The Autobots who survived were revived with the loss of only a few. Now they wait and repair what they can while they try to figure out where they were and what they were going to do next.

The female was small and a beautiful pink pearl color that reflected a gentle rainbow of colors as the light struck her. At closer inspection, Wheeljack could not find an insignia. No insignia, no alliance. She was a civilian. There were few civilians left. Most had joined the war on one side or the other, or fled Cyberton in hopes of finding peace. None were female.

His spark surged in his chest cavity as the realization struck him. If she was not a soldier then she was not a Transformer because only the females who chose to fight could transform. He had to be sure. First he looked around to make sure he was alone then slid open more plates working his way down her chest and abdomen. With each new section he confirmed what he believed.

She was an entertainer. Her kind used to work in the pleasure district on Cyberton. They ran spas that the elite, workers, and soldiers would go to after a hard day. Hot oil baths would soothe aching gears while the females used small instruments to clean tiny crevices of debris. Sometimes, if a bot was lucky, she would use her circuits to connect to the male's and send pleasure through him and on occasion their sparks would meet eliciting the ultimate pleasure. His hands shook as he continued to look. He had never seen one before, only hearing stories from the older males that lived back before the war. He had known female soldiers but they weren't the same.

When the war started some of the females took up arms and had their circuits changed so that they could transform. As new bots were born they would all choose one side or another. The entertainer females became more and more rare until one day they disappeared altogether.

The females that were soldiers could still be connected to and pleasure could be shared between male and female, but, from what Wheeljack was told, it was nothing like what one could experience with a 'true female'. The soldier females hated that term, 'true female', and looked down on the ones that had remained entertainers.

Some of her circuits looked damaged and he wasn't sure if it was from the crash or if somebot had done it to her. He closed her back up and lifted her up. If she was going to be revived then she would need to see Ratchet.

...

Ratchet was cleaning up the medical ward. There was a giant Rock protruding through the middle of the room that he really wanted removed. Only, it wasn't top priority and all the other Autobots were busy with other tasks.

"The medical ward will be top priority as soon as one of them gets hurt," the doctor bot mumbled to himself.

The door opened and Wheeljack walked in carrying a female. He placed her on the exam table, "I found her hiding in Teletran."

"How did she get there?" Ratchet asked looking down at his new patient.

"Wake her up and we can ask her," Wheeljack suggested.

Ratchet opened her chest plate to examine her and his spark pulsed, "No transforming cog."

Wheeljack shook his head, "She's not a Transformer."

Ratchet's intake valve closed up briefly before it reopened allowing him to suck in air again. "I have not seen a true female in a long time."

"I've never seen one this close before," Wheeljack admitted. "I never had currency enough to afford to go to the spa. My protoform was made in the Tagon Heights."

Ratchet had forgotten that his best friend came from the working class. If it wasn't for the war the two of them would have never been friends. Ratchet was formed as part of the Elite society in Uraya and trained to be a doctor before he had selected his form. "I had been to the spa," Ratchet lifted her hand and examined her fingers. The tools inside the slender digits were used for getting into places none of his medical devices could reach and they were nimble. "I wonder what Prime will have to say about her."

"Do you think he'll let her… work?" Wheeljack ventured.

"Pleasure aside," Ratchet placed her hand back on the table. "Her healing skills could be beneficial."

"Of course," Wheeljack waved his hand. "That's what I meant."

Ratchet looked up at his close friend, "Sure it is."

"Don't act like you wouldn't like to touch sparks with her," Wheeljack snapped.

"I would like to be able to touch sparks," Ratchet admitted. The best he and Wheeljack had managed was finding four connections that felt good. All of their other tests resulted in massive amounts of pain. Touching sparks was quickly becoming a thing of legend. "I also wouldn't mind a hot oil bath to soothe my aching gears." Ratchet turned on a nearby machine, "Now, let's wake her up and find out how she ended up in Teletran."

Her optics' blue light flickered to life as she came back online. Moaning, she brought her hand up to her head, "Where am I?"

"You're on the Ark," Ratchet answered. "My name is Ratchet. I'm a doctor." He pointed to Wheeljack, "This is our technician Wheeljack. He found you in our main computer Teletran."

She looked over at Ratchet and saw the Autobot emblem on his chest, "Oh. I am free of the Decepticons."

"Were you their prisoner?" Wheeljack asked.

She nodded, "I ventured out of hiding and was found by Soundwave. He took me to Megatron and I was their captive. When they attacked your ship, I managed to jump onboard and hide." She looked around, "Did you defeat them?"

"Sadly, no," Ratchet answered. "They escaped." He looked down at her, "Were they rough with you? I noticed damage to some of your circuits." When she looked at him he suddenly felt uneasy, "I only looked to assess any damage you might have sustained in the crash. I would never take advantage. If there was another female here to tend to you I would not have even looked."

She smiled, "You are a doctor after all." She nodded, "The Decepticons treated me well, more or less. Megatron was the only one who was rough. That bot is pure evil. I have no idea how a spark could have ended up so corrupted, I have a hard time believing that it's a spark of Primus."

"To stop him is why we fight," Wheeljack nodded. Then he tilted his head, "What's your name?"

"Opal," she answered. "What is that sticking through your infirmary?" she asked pointing to the rock.

"A nuisance," Ratchet sighed. "It stuck through the ship when we crashed."

"Where are we?" Opal asked.

"We haven't assessed that yet, really," Wheeljack answered. "What we do know, is that this planet is organic and without energon."

"Wheeljack," Optimus Prime's voice echoed from the corridor. "Why haven't you fixed Teletran yet?"

"Primus," Wheeljack cursed then turned to leave. "I got sidetracked," he hollered as he left the medical ward. "You should go see Rathcet's new patient."

Prime walked into the room, but was looking over his shoulder at the retreating Wheeljack. "What is he going on about?" Prime asked as he turned to look at Ratchet. "I should be able to have a detail come in and remove that thing soon." He stopped when he saw Opal. "How did she get here?" he pointed at her.

"The Decepticons had her and she managed to hide in Teletran before we crashed," Ratchet explained. "She is what sidetracked Wheeljack."

Prime's optics stayed transfixed on Opal, "You vanished."

"We went into hiding," she corrected. "We could not stand to see the effects of your war on our world and bots."

"She could be very beneficial to us," Ratchet offered.

"Oh?" Prime crossed his arms.

"She has tools at her disposal that I do not," Ratchet clarified. "That and she knows the inner workings of bots better than I ever could."

Prime nodded, "Fine. She can be utilized as your assistant in all things medical, but we will not treat her as a recreational plaything."

"Shouldn't that be left up to me?" Opal argued. "I have no problems with…."

"No," Prime cut her off. "I can only foresee problems and jealousy if I permit any more than that. There is only one of you and sixteen of us. They can take their pleasures with each other like they have been."

Ratchet must have looked visibly shocked because Optimus looked right at him, "You think I didn't know?"

Ratchet felt the energon quicken through his body as his spark fluttered, "Of course you did. You're Prime."

Prime's stance softened, "I would not deny you your pleasures, but one female for sixteen males is a bit much."

Opal smiled and tilted her head, "I had a greater ratio than that before when I worked at the spa in Iacon. At least let me try and open a spa for them, if I can."

Prime nodded, "Hot oil baths would be welcome, if you can find a way to maintain them. I don't know yet what kind of resources we will find on this planet."

"If the planet is organic, then there will be oil of some kind here," Opal informed him. "It's all a matter of refining it and if it can hold up in heat."

"We have more pressing matters to attend to," Optimus said. "As soon as it is possible, we will help you set up a spa. But you will not connect to anybot. Do you understand?"

She bowed her head, "If that is your wish. You are Prime."

Optimus started out the door, but turned, "I know your kind kept to your own rules and were apart from the commands of Prime, but I would greatly appreciate it if you would respect me as the leader. At least until I can find a way to get you safely back to Cybertron and back into hiding. Maybe you can help them find better ways to connect to each other. Finding good connection is difficult enough with Autobot females, I'm sure it's even more so between two males."

"If it would please you," She again bowed her head, "I will follow your commands, Prime."

Prime nodded. "We will talk more about it later but right now I have other matters to attend to."

"I will see you later then," she smiled.

When Prime left, Ratchet sighed, "Primus."

Opal looked up at him, "What?"

He looked down at her and his optics drifted down to her chest plate, "Nothing." He looked away, "Let me get you familiar with the infirmary."

Her two dainty hands intertwined with his large red one, "Maybe one day he will change his mind."

He felt his spark flare at her touch, "One can only hope."

"Just give me time," she teased. "I have yet to meet a Prime that I could not charm."

He looked down at her, "Have you met many?"

"You would be surprised," she let go of his hand. "Now, why don't you show me around?"

….

Tracks was amazed when he found a pool of liquid H2O just sitting in a hole in the rock. On Cybertron it had to be kept at a steady temperature to maintain its liquid form. Then again, given how vastly different the pressure was on this planet it appeared that water kept its liquid form at a greater range of temperature than it does on Cybertron. He collected a sample of it to take back to Wheeljack.

"Why did you drag me all the way out here?" Sunstreaker complained. "This place has a lot of loose debris and it's getting in my gears. Not to mention the sun is wreaking havoc on my finish. It's too hot."

"Oh, knock it off," Tracks grumbled. "Your voice is hurting my receptors." He took in some air and noticed that it was full of tiny particles that he knew would cause him problems later. Tucking the sample into a compartment at his side, Tracks walked over to Sunstreaker. He placed a hand on Sunstreaker's chest plate, "Open up for me."

"Out here?" Sunstreaker shook his head. "It's going to take me cycles to get this stuff out of my gears as it is."

Tracks sighed and stepped back, "I knew I should have asked your brother."

"Sideswipe wouldn't have liked it out here anymore than I do," Sunstreaker crossed his arms over his chest. "You asked me because we get better connections." Sunstreaker was right. Tracks had found more pleasurable connections with him than he had with any other, though four wasn't something to brag about.

For some reason Tracks ended up being the go to bot for most of the others when it came to carnal desires. He didn't mind it so much it was just hard keeping track of all the right ways to connect to each of them. His biggest desire was to find a way to touch sparks, especially with Jazz.

"Do you want to connect or not?" Tracks huffed, dropping his arms to his side.

"With you?" Sunstreaker walked over and lifted Tracks' chin so they were looking into each other's optics. "Always."

Sunstreaker found a place in the shade and Tracks followed him to it. Sunstreaker sat down and pulled Tracks down to that he was straddling Sunstreaker's lap. "Alright," Sunstreaker smiled, "since you insist."

"I don't want you to damage your circuits on my account," Tracks teased.

"Shut up and open up," Sunstreaker retorted.

The two bots opened their chest plates and Sunstreaker went to work connection them. "Not that one!" Tracks cringed, "The one below it."

"Sorry," Sunstreaker attached himself to the sensitive circuit causing a pulse of pleasure to surge through to Track's spark. Sunstreaker grunted, "Yeah. That's a good one."

Before Sunstreaker was able to attach the second one, Prowl's voice interrupted them through their communications device, "Everyone needs to get back to the Ark. Teletran's back on line."

"Primus," Tracks cursed. "It was just starting warm up."

Regrettably Sunstreaker disconnected them and closed his chest plate, "Maybe later." They got up and transformed to head back to the Ark.

Back at base Wheeljack stood in front of a now working Teletran. Images flooded the screen of vast collections of liquid H2O, organic life that looked to be inanimate, inorganic cities and small organic creatures. "According to my calculations we were off line for more than one hundred thousand meta-cycles," Wheeljack began.

He then waited for the overlapping mumbles form the other Autobots to die down before he continued. "We have not established communications with Cybertron, yet, but I'm working on it. We are in a place, that the inhabitants of this planet call a desert," Wheeljack explained. "Teletran has located the Decepticons' base somewhere in the middle of this vast expanse of liquid H2O, which surprisingly covers about two thirds of this planet. The dominant life forms on this planet call themselves 'human' and the region we are in they speak a language call 'English', though some might not. There are several languages on this planet and the people are still segregated in several different ways. There are several wars going on and they kill each other in what seems like random acts of violence every day. There is however a variety of oils here and some can be converted into energon, there are also several different ways that they have developed for creating energy that we can utilize and use to make energon."

He turned to Teletran and pulled up more images, "We will need to disguise ourselves so we don't draw attention. We can easily change ourselves to adopt the forms of their modes of transportation. I have a selection for each of you that will work with your body types and skillsets. I will also place holographic projectors inside your chassis. It needs to appear that there is a human inside of you as you drive around."

He turned off Teletran and walked over to a door, "Finally, there was a discovery made when I was cleaning and repairing Teletran. I found a former Decepticon prisoner hiding in an access panel below the main computer. HER name is Opal and she will assist Ratchet in the infirmary."

Prime stayed to the side while Wheeljack opened the door to reveal the true female that was hiding behind it. Tracks knew what she was the moment he saw her. It was in the way she carried herself and the lines of her chassis. The others recognized her for what she was as well and started to bombard Wheeljack with questions. But it was Prime who stepped forward and held up his hands for silence and the gathered Autobots obeyed.

"She has been granted permission to open a spa, but she is forbidden to connect with any of you." There was a display of displeasure at the announcement and Prime waited for it to fade before he continued. "She was abused by the Decepticons and I will not have us doing the same. She is free to work, but she will not be taken advantage of. And as soon as we can, we will take her back to Cybertron so that she can rejoin her kind in hiding."

Opal stepped forward, "I look forward to getting to know each of you. And I will help you in any way that I can."

Sunstreaker leaned in close and whispered to Tracks, "Thanks to Primes orders, your position as team plaything is secure," earning himself an elbow to the midsection. Sunstreaker chuckled, "Maybe Prime will let her teach you how to find better connections and maybe you can learn how to touch sparks. Won't that be nice?"

"Yeah that would be," Tracks admitted. He looked back to where Opal was standing and wondered just how much she would be willing to teach him.


	2. Chapter 2

WARNING! This contains robot 'sex', their version of it anyway. And robot, rape.

Megatron had Starscream pinned to the ground, "You lost her?"

The science officer struggled under his leader's grip, but Megatron held tight keeping Starscream's arms above his head. "You were the last one with her," Starscream didn't know why he always pushed Megatron's buttons. He just couldn't help himself. "You lost her." Pride maybe, it was always his greatest weakness.

"I will rip your processors out with my bare hands," Megatron hissed.

Starscream laughed, "You keep saying you will, but you never do."

"She satisfied my desires." Megatron forced Starscream's chest plate open, "I guess you will have to take her place." He then got to work attaching himself to Starscream's circuits. The connections hurt Starscream, but Megatron seemed to be enjoying it. Either he was actually getting surges of pleasure or he liked the pain. "Open your spark chamber," Megatron growled.

"I don't know if you know this," Starscream grunted, "but I'm not getting any pleasure so my spark won't come forward. We won't be able to touch sparks."

"Open it," Megatron drew out the command in a low rumble. The longer they stayed attached the more the pain intensified and Starscream just wanted it to end, so he opened his chamber. He watched as Megatron's opened to reveal the spiked tentacles that acted as an extra barrier. They uncoiled and the glow of Megatron's spark flared.

"If you want to survive this," Megatron warned, "don't move."

Energon rushed through Starscream's body as Megatron pressed their open chest cavities together. He screamed as he felt the tentacles reach into his spark chamber and pull his spark forward to touch Megatron's.

Usually touching sparks was a euphoric experience, but Megatron's spark felt wrong and Starscream only felt an immeasurable amount of pain. His screams echoed throughout the chamber as the nanokliks seemed to take cycles.

Megatron's body shuttered in pleasure above him as nanoklik by nanoklik the pain intensified for Starscream. His optics began to flicker as his life force started to pull away and he longed for the release, but Megatron let his spark go, then he roughly pulled their connections apart.

Smoke rose up out of Starscream's chest and he was sure that some of his circuits were damaged. The worst part was that their doctor died in the crash and Opal was no longer with them to help fix any damage. So Starscream was going to have to figure out how to repair them himself.

Megatron stood, "Get out."

It took a few nanokliks before Starscream could get his body functioning again. The pain had surged through all of his circuits and his spark fluttered seemingly unable to settle back into the chamber. Somehow he managed to stumble out of the room and into the waiting arms of his Seeker brothers. They supported him as they guided him down the corridor to the infirmary.

They placed him on the exam table and Thundercracker leaned in over his general, "Why do you insist on antagonizing him so?"

Skywarp looked down at Starscream's still open chest cavity, "He really did a number on you."

"He forced our sparks to touch," Starscream whimpered. "I didn't know he could do that."

"We'll have to make sure that the others know," Skywarp placed his hand on Starscream's spark chamber. "Your spark is unstable."

Starscream grabbed Skywarp's arm, "I will kill him one day. Then we will truly be free."

"Why did we throw in with him again?" Thundercracker asked tartly.

"Because he made us such wonderful promises," Skywarp answered. "And he was able to organize the resistance better than anyone."

"With pretty speeches," Starscream snapped. "I would have made a better leader. If only everyone would have followed me instead. I'm smarter than he is, he's just more ruthless."

"He killed Sentinal Prime," Skywarp needlessly reminded them. The resistance was scattered and leaderless. They rallied against the council and Prime demanding their fair share. Megatron was not the first to use violence, but he was the first to kill a Prime. He united the resistance and turned the violent uprising into an all-out war.

"We will follow you, brother," Thundercracker nodded. "It was you who got us out of Altihex and into Nova Cronum. We were doing so much more than our station permitted us to. And you were rising through the ranks of the top scientists, proving that all bots were capable of greatness regardless of what plant our protoforms emerged from."

"That may be so," Skywarp retorted, "but that didn't stop The Prime and the council from putting us back in our place."

"It was a start," Thundercracker argued. "It got the attention of some high ranking officials. They became sympathetic to our cause."

"The privileged bots from Iacon would never permit lowly bots like us to gain any status," Starscream sat up. His spark finally settled and he was able to regain control over his body again. "We're with Megatron because he promised to knock them off the platforms they placed themselves on. All I tried to do was have them listen. I was a fool back then. I know now that force is needed, not just words." He got down off the table, "I will overthrow the tyrant we've shackled ourselves to and take our fight where it belongs. I will overthrow the Prime and melt down the council. There will be equality for all bots and I don't care who I have to kill to get it."

…..

Soundwave sat repairing Frenzy while Rumble sat with his other Sub-bot brothers and watched. Soundwave was able to save Frenzy's spark before it fizzled and now he worked to repair the damage done in the battle before it was too late.

"Why do you waste your time with that?" Mixmaster looked down at the little body in Soundwave's arms. "He's just a Sub-bot. Not worth it."

Soundwave ignored the Combineder and continued to work.

Frenzy's spark rested in a special chamber inside Soundwave. He had created the five Sub-bots with Rumble and Frenzy being his greatest achievements. Most Cybertronians start out as protoforms getting their infant sparks form Vector Sigma. But Soundwave was a rare bot with the ability to create a spark and house them in a special compartment within his chasse. The stigma behind what he was had some like him snuff out the light, but not him. He built his cassettes so that the sparks that formed inside him could have a chance at life.

There was a process in creating a spark, he never planned it, and he couldn't do it all on his own. He needed another to touch sparks with him, and then on some occasions a spark would appear in his compartment. However, the sparks that were created were considered inferior and were not viewed as children of Primus. Sub-bots were limited by law to be creatures, but Soundwave decided that his last two would be greater. He wanted all other Cybertronians to know that they were no different.

He faced a great deal of criticism for creating Rumble and Frenzy. "Sub-bots were not smart enough to handle higher functions. They are best suited to be creatures," he would be told. But he knew better. All five of his creations were smart.

He had no control over what he was, but society looked down on him anyway for being different. "Unnatural," they would call him. Only Primus can create sparks. What Soundwave was able to create was not a true spark according to them, but he knew deep down that was not true.

He was ordered to destroy Rumble and Frenzy by the council. That was when the communications expert joined the resistance and pledged a loyalty to Megatron.

Even though Megatron permitted the Sub-bots, he was no different than any other bot. He looked down on Soundwave's creations as inferior and expendable. The only bot to treat his creations as equals was Opal. She would tell them that they were as much children of Primus as any of them and she found the fluke in Soundwave's design fascinating. She said that he was special and that he should never stop giving his sparks life and even taught him how to find good connections so that he could continue to touch sparks.

He finished the repairs to the little bot's body and placed him gently on the floor. Reaching into his own chassis, Soundwave pulled out Frenzy's spark. He had to move quickly. A spark cannot survive outside of a body for long and he had lost a few sparks in the past to exposure. He quickly closed the spark chamber, locking the fluttering spark within.

All he could do was wait and see if it would settle back into the body as he felt it pulse through the chamber door. "Come on, Frenzy," Rumble whispered leaning in close. Laserbeak, Buzzsaw and Ravage also moved in close.

Frenzy's optic band flickered, but did not say lit. His spark was still fluttering frantically in the chamber. The shock of the procedure could still extinguish the light. Soundwave waited, unmoving with his hand covering Frenzy's spark chamber. After what seemed like cycles the little spark settled and Frenzy's optic band lit up.

His head turned so that he was looking up at Soundwave, "I can't move."

"Time is needed," Soundwave's monotone voice replied. He cradled Frenzy and elevated his head so that he could drink some energon. "Drink. Regain strength." Frenzy drank the glowing purple liquid that fuelled their bodies.

"What a waste," Mixmaster sneered. "We need to ration our energon. Your little freaks shouldn't be getting any at all."

"Hey," Rumble snapped at the chemist. "Frenzy's the one that saved your miserable spark."

"As it should be," Mixmaster retorted. "I'm more important."

"Out," Soundwave warned Mixmaster.

"You care too much for those abominations," Mixmaster turned to go. "But I guess you really have no choice. An uncharismatic bot like you has to create his friends. Freak."

Ravage hissed at Mixmaster, but otherwise stayed put. Soundwave's hand came up and rested on his creation's head. "Settle," he soothed. "Mixmaster's opinion, irrelevant." He turned to look at the retreating Combineder.

Once he was no longer in view, Soundwave returned his attention to Frenzy, "Can you transform?"

Frenzy finished the energon and nodded, "I think so."

Soundwave sat Frenzy on the ground and stood. He pressed the button on his right shoulder, "Return," he commanded. The five Sub-bots transformed and flew into Soundwave's chest cavity and slid down to be stored deep within the larger bot's chassis.

…..

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe stood looking at images of Earth cars on Teletran's monitor. "I like this one," Sunstreaker smiled. "It's sleek and sexy like me."

"Oh, deer brother, you know I'm better suited for such beauty," Sideswipe jested.

They were looking at images of a top of the line Lamborghini and Wheeljack stood back, waiting for the brothers to decide who would get to have the car. Of course they could not have the same one that was completely out of the question.

After a few kliks Wheeljack had enough and pushed past them to get at the control panel. He brought up two variations of the same car, "There. Now you both can have the same car with a slight twist on them."

The two brothers looked up at the monitor. "I want the one on the left," Sunstreaker announced.

"Good, I like the one on the right," Sideswipe retorted.

"Then it's settled?" Wheeljack felt like he was talking to two protoforms, and not two seasoned warriors.

"Yes," the brothers said in unison.

"I'm first," Sunstreaker ran for the chamber and stepped in. "Make sure I'm a magnificent sunbeam yellow, Wheeljack, and not that prime yellow."

"Rust-orange it is," Wheeljack teased as he closed the camber sealing Sunstreaker in.

Sunstreaker pounded on the clear camber door, "Don't you dare."

Sideswipe burst out laughing.

….

Tracks stood in front of a mirror admiring his new body. He would transform to admire his car form, flicking his wings out, then he would transform back into his bot form. He turned and studied how the new design fit him and decided that he really liked it.

"Not bad," Jazz observed entering the room. He lifted his arms and turned so Tracks could get a full view, "What do you think?"

Track's gaze drifted up and down Jazz's chassis, "I guess it will have to do."

Jazz placed his hands on his hips, "The humans will find the car form to be very appealing. I chose an expensive one and modified it for racing."

"You were an amazing racer, before the war," Tracks admitted. "I remember going to the tracks to watch the races back when I was still a protoform. I wanted to be a racer, but the bot that was caring for me said that it was below my station."

"You came out of the plant in Iacon?" Jazz asked.

Tracks nodded, "I was being prepped to be a council member."

Jazz laughed, "I wonder what they would have to say about you connecting with over half the bots here."

"You can remove yourself from that list of bots," Tracks turned.

"Oh come on," Jazz walked up and placed a hand on Track's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Tracks couldn't stay mad at the older bot. "I chose the name Tracks, because of my love for racing," Tracks admitted. "I chose my form after the war had started, so I was limited even more on what I could choose. I had to be a soldier."

"You chose a nice form," Jazz leaned in. "Your circuits are nice too."

Tracks turned to face him, "Too bad we can only find one good connection."

"Our circuits are too different," Jazz sighed.

"Maybe Opal can help," Tracks suggested. "I've been thinking about going to see her so she can teach me."

"Why don't we go now?" Jazz smiled.

They headed to the infirmary to find Opal and found her there going over some oil samples. She looked up when they entered.

"I like the new look," she smiled taking the two Autobots in.

"I was wondering," Tracks got right to the point, "if you could teach me how to find good connections."

"Oh," Opal walked over to him. "Open your chest plate." Tracks complied and Opal examined him, "You come from Iacon."

"Yes," Tracks nodded.

"Your circuits are beautiful," Opal placed her hand over them. "They keep the plants in Iacon in pristine condition." She turned to Jazz, "Are you here to connect with him?"

Jazz placed his hand behind his head, "It would be nice. All we've managed on our own is one."

Opal tilted her head, "Let me see your circuits." Jazz opened his chest cavity and she nodded her head, "You are from Kalis. That would explain it." She pulled Jazz over and had him sit then walked over and locked the door. She then coaxed Tracks over to straddle Jazz's lap. "The reason you are having a hard time finding a good connection is because your circuit configurations are too different."

"So… that's it?" Tracks asked. "We're too different to be able to connect?"

"I did not say that," Opal corrected. "I just said that it would be difficult." She reached into Jazz's chest and pulled on a connector. "This should work," She attached it to a low one on Tracks and they both gasped.

"That's a good one," Jazz moaned as he pulled Tracks a little closer to ease the strain on the cord.

She pulled one from Tracks and he looked over in panic, "That one never has good results." She smiled and connected it to a high one on Jazz. "Oh," Tracks said softly.

"Have you ever touched sparks?" she asked as she examined their connectors closer.

"No," they said in unison.

"Even though I was a successful racer, I never had enough to go to the spa, before your kind disappeared," Jazz informed her. "Anytime I tried after that was never successful."

"Four was the best I ever got," Tracks admitted.

Opal pulled out another connector from Tracks, "Well then, let's see if we can change that." She connected the third circuit and both Tracks and Jazz moaned. The first two were intensifying with each passing nanoklik and the addition of the third had Tracks' spark fluttering in anticipation. "Just two more," Opal whispered as she looked their connectors over. She contemplated them for a moment, "You're going to need some help." She stood and walked over to rummage through some parts.

"If touching sparks is better than this, I don't know if I'll be able to handle it," Jazz grunted instinctively pulling Tracks closer.

"Two males tend to need more help," Opal explained kneeling down next to them. "Especially if they are from vastly different plants like the two of you are. So some things have to be forced." She grabbed a cord from Jazz and attached converter plug then pulled a cord from Tracks and attached them.

A brief surge of pain that quickly ebbed into intense pleasure coursed through the connection. The fifth connection required a converter cord that she nimbly connected to the two of them. Five connections was the minimum to manage a spark touch.

"Get close," Opal directed and they pressed their open chest cavities together. "Okay. Now open your spark chambers and stay together."

Jazz grabbed hold of Tracks and maneuvered them so that Tracks was lying on his back with Jazz on top, supporting his weight with is hands on either side of Tracks' head. Jazz touched his forehead to Tracks' while their chambers slid open.

Touching sparks was greater than the stories made it out to be. Euphoric was a vast understatement. And Tracks was glad that it was with Jazz that he got to experience it for the first time. He had admired the former racer and would watch him race every chance he got. In fact, he took the position on the Ark just so he could be closer to him and they couldn't get any closer than touching sparks.

The pulsations of pleasure that surged through him got faster and more intense with each passing nanoklik. The energon was rushing through his body and it was almost too much to handle. One last burst of pleasure then it ended and their sparks pulled back into their chambers.

Tracks felt strange after the experience, his body was almost numb. Jazz lifted his visor, a rare sight to see, and looked down at how they were connected, "I have to remember this."

"You keep the converters for next time," Tracks smiled. "If you're the only one I touch sparks with, I'll be happy."

Opal looked down at Tracks, "You connect with others?"

Jazz got to work disconnecting them while Tracks struggled to keep optic contact with Opal, "Well… I… uh."

Jazz got up, "It just kind of happened, the kid kind of got designated as the go to for connecting on the ship."

Opal prevented Tracks from sitting up and inspected his circuits again, sliding open more sections of his chassis. "Oh," she gasped then got up and opened the door. She grabbed Jazz and forced him out then closed the door on the confused bot.

"I've heard of your kind, but you are only the second one I ever met," Opal said to Tracks. "Apparently you guys started to appear after my kind went into hiding. Primus has a sense of humor it seems."

"What?"

"You're like me," she said.

Tracks got up and looked down at her in confusion, "I'm a true female?"

"You are a Creator."

"What?"

"True female is a term you bots came up with after the other females started changing themselves to fight the war. Your spark has the ability to create sparks when it comes into contact with other sparks, but not every time," she explained. "I've only met one other. I couldn't teach him anything because he sided with the Decepticons and I couldn't risk Megatron knowing."

"I create sparks for Sub-bots?" he groaned. "Primus! I'm like that freak Soundwave."

She sighed, "That is a sad consequence of ignorance. Soundwave is not a freak," she insisted. "All sparks are created by Creators, like me, you, and Soundwave. But the females had knowledge and access to Vector Sigma. You male Creators don't, and you guys can transform. It must be because you have more room in your chassis." She sighed, "With females we can only do one or the other. We lost a lot of Creators when they decided to change themselves for the war. The rest of us went into hiding."

"Creators?" Tracks was confused. "What in the name of Primus are you talking about?"

"We were the ones who filled Vector Sigma with sparks that were then placed into protoforms once they were ready. Your kind didn't exist when we were around," she crossed her arms over her chest. "Soundwave told me that he was still a protoform when we went into hiding. Have you ever seen a female like me?

"No," Tracks shook his head. "I emerged from the plant during the resistance, after your kind vanished."

She walked over to Tracks and pointed to a small chamber in his lower abdomen, "Haven't you ever wondered what this was for?"

"I could never open it," he shrugged.

"I'll show you," she grabbed his hand and guided him to open the chamber. A small spark flitted inside. She smiled up at him, "We always create one on our first spark touch. The chamber can hold up to five then you will have to either build bots to put them in or give them to Vector Sigma."

"I need to sit down," Tracks breathed.


	3. Chapter 3

Opal sat with Tracks in the room that would one day be her spa. She was trying to figure out why Creator sparks were showing up in male bot forms. It was against Primus' design. "You came online after we went into hiding?"

"Yes," Tracks nodded. "My protoform emerged after Optimus was made Prime. I'm relatively young, only around three million years."

"It was the same with Soundwave," Opal mused out loud. "I wonder if Vector Sigma had something to do with this."

"Vector Sigma?" Tracks asked.

Opal couldn't help but feel sorry for Tracks. This had to have been difficult for him to take in. "Vector Sigma's sole purpose is to continue giving life to protoforms." Opal explained. "Since we were gone then any new female was most likely encouraged to take on a worker or warrior form, leaving no room for a secondary spar chamber. Vector Sigma may just be a computer but it must have somehow figured out what was happening, went against its programming, and started putting Creator sparks into male forms. Your chassis are bigger and can hold both a transforming cog and secondary spark chamber. I wonder how many male Creators there are."

"I wonder how many are out there who don't know. A spark touch is a hard thing to achieve." Tracks countered. "The ones who do are… treated like freaks. The sparks they… we create are not of Primus." His hand covered his secondary chamber. "They are doomed to be Sub-bots."

Opal placed her hand on Track's shoulder. He had just recently discovered that was something that his people treated like a pariah. The fear of what was going to happen to him was clear in his optics. "Only a total of thirteen sparks were cut directly from Primus," Opal told him. "The rest where created through spark touch. The ones you create are no different from any other."

Tracks shook his head, "I don't know if anyone is going to believe that. The council has declared them inferior."

"The council, what do they know? And the other Autobots don't need to know what we can do," Opal waved her hand. She found this all very irritating. "You will be safe. The one I worry about is Soundwave. What he can do is well known and he is a way for Megatron to continue to build his army."

"Maybe," Tracks hesitated and thought. "Maybe I could find a way to damage Soundwave's secondary spark chamber. That will keep Megatron from using those sparks."

"That would only devastate him," Opal shook her head. "I would rather try to bring him over to the Autobots' side. He isn't treated well by his fellow Decepticons. Let's just hope that Megatron continues with his elitist mentality and sees those sparks as lesser beings. Not matter what he says, he is no better than those on the council."

"What do we do now?"

"I will talk to Optimus," She said and she could see that her words were doing little to ease his mind. "I will find a way to fix this."

….

Soundwave sat working on the new bodies for the sparks in his secondary chamber. His processors raced in fear when he learned that Opal was gone. Without her, Megatron will turn to his troops for pleasure and the thought of touching sparks with him had Soundwave's energon running cold.

He needed to build bodies for the four sparks nestled in his chamber, before Megatron turned his attention to him. They weren't ready, but it was better than being extinguished when Megatron forced a spark touch. He had four frames built, and he just needed to make them spark ready.

"Soundwave," Dirge entered the room. "Megatron's looking for you."

Soundwave froze, looking down at the four unfinished bodies. It was too late, one of his creations was soon going to fizzle. Knowing that there was nothing that he could do to stop it, he stood and followed Dirge to where Megatron was waiting.

They entered Megatron's cambers and the Decepticon leader turned to face Soundwave. "Mixmaster said that he witnessed something… interesting earlier," he stated waving Dirge out. "You were able to hold Frenzy's spark in your chassis."

Soundwave stood silent.

"Then I started to wonder," Megatron continued as he walked towards Soundwave. "How did you create the sparks for your little creations?"

"Random," Soundwave replied.

"They just appear. You do nothing?"

Soundwave remained silent. Something deep inside told him that Megatron should not know how he made sparks.

He took too long to reply. Megatron's hand came up and wrapped around Soundwave's neck. His grip was tight enough to cut off Soundwave's air intake valve and restrict the flow of energon. "You will answer me," he pulled Soundwave close. "Lift your visor and remove your mask, and enough with your simplistic way of speaking. You will speak to me like a normal bot or I will rip out what is left of your vocal unit."

The red visor lifted to reveal Soundwave's light blue optics and his mask parted to reveal his damaged face. He had a beautiful voice before the attack that damaged his vocal unit and scarred his face. As a protoform he would sing and dreamed of entertaining others. He chose his form so that his voice could be amplified and so that he had a way to record his songs. But that all changed when it was discovered what he was and what he could do and he was beaten to the point that he thought he was going to die. The damage to his voice box could not be undone and he hated his voice, so he decided then to be a bot of little words.

His hand came up and covered the chamber that held the four sparks. "It happens randomly when I touch sparks," he admitted. "I don't know why it happens."

"Has it ever happened when we touched sparks?" Megatron inquired.

Soundwave shook his head as best as he could in Megatron's tight grip, "No. Your spark… destroys them."

A smile crept across Megatron's face, "This is why you so eagerly brought me Opal."

"Yes." Soundwave remembered finding Opal. She came out of hiding to find out the state of things and he captured her. He had had enough of losing his sparks to Megatron's touch and he saw Opal as his salvation.

"I want to show you something," Megatron released Soundwave and walked towards a door. It slid open and Megatron stepped inside and Soundwave followed.

Soundwave stopped and looked in disbelief at all the protoforms. There were so many.

Megatron gestured to all the empty chassis, "I want you to fill them with your 'inferior' sparks."

Soundwave walked through the protoforms, running his hand over them as he passed. They were made in the upper level factories and were elite grade protoforms.

Megatron's optics stayed on him, "I will turn them into Seekers and Combineders of the greatest caliber. Together we will grow my Decepticon army and destroy Optimus Prime and the Matrix of Leadership."

It was too good to pass up. Soundwave walked over and lifted a protoform then took it over to place it in a stasis chamber. Megatron stood back and watched while Soundwave moved a total of four protoforms. "You will give them time to mature?" Soundwave asked his leader.

"Yes," Megatron answered. "You have my word. And they will be treated the same as any other within my ranks. Better in fact. Instead of Sub-bots, they will be Elite. No one will ever know that they came from you. I promised that I would take care of you. That is why you joined me in the first place, so that your little creations would be safe. I am a bot of my word. My cause is to bring justice to all bots, including yours. No more of the council's cruel segregations."

It was greater than anything he had ever hoped for his creations. They would be above him in their station. Though they would be taught to look down on him, he didn't care. They would live. One by one Soundwave placed his created sparks into the protoforms, sealing them in and keeping his hand over the spark chamber until it settled. When he was done he turned to Megatron, "That is all I have for now."

"So, your secondary spark chamber is empty?" Megatron asked.

"Yes," Soundwave nodded, knowing very well what Megatron wanted.

Megatron smiled, "Good. Now I don't have to worry about snuffing one out."

Soundwave's optics shot up to meet with Megatron's, "Correct." Even though he was expecting it, he was still unnerved by the thought of touching Megatron's spark. The agony it brought was greater than anything he had ever faced.

Megatron spun his finger for Soundwave to turn around. Due to the location of the storage camber in the front of his chassis, used for holding his cassettes, Soundwave's connectors were located in his back. He dropped his visor and closed his mask and turned to face the wall. He slid open his back plate for Megatron and braced himself against the wall.

Most of Soundwave's connectors were ones that brought him pleasure and it was rare to find one that hurt, even with Megatron. And he had more plugs than cords, which was another rarity with the male form. Megatron however had no plugs at all and he never stopped with just five. He connected as many of his cords as he could.

"Now that Opal's gone, there will be a void that needs to be filled among the troops," Megatron growled as he connected to Soundwave. "If touching sparks has you create sparks, then I want you to do it as often as possible. Have the troops come to you as opposed to each other."

"Yes, Lord Megatron." Soundwave agreed. It wasn't going to be hard. Despite how unpopular he was among the Decepticons, they all knew that he had the best connectors and that a spark touch was almost guaranteed so they came to him often.

Though the connections were good and sent pleasure through Soundwave's body, when they touched sparks it brought its usual searing pain. But, Soundwave didn't scream. He never screamed, even when it felt as if his spark was being torn from him.

He would endure the agony to make sure that his creations were safe.

….

Optimus was looking over reports from his scouts when Opal walked in, "We need to talk." Her blatant lack of respect for his authority was making him understand why the council disliked her kind. They were nothing more than care givers for Cybertronians, she had no right to speak to him in such a way.

He looked over at her, "I'm busy."

"This can't wait," she insisted.

What could she want that was more important than anything he was working on? They were on an alien planet, along with Megatron and his army of Decepticons, putting the planet in danger and she probably wanted to talk about her spa. He had a feeling that she wasn't going to leave unless he humored her. "Really?" Optimus stood. "What is it about?"

"I'm just going to ask you outright," she stated, dispensing with the politeness that her kind were known for. "Did the council have you open the Matrix when they made you Prime?"

Prime shook his head, "No. They said it should only be opened in our darkest hour."

Opal rolled her optics, "I swear there is something suspicious about the council."

"They are my most trusted advisors," Prime crossed his arms, not liking her tone.

"And yet they didn't have you open the Matrix," she shot back. "Either they forgot that it needed to be done. Or they didn't want you to. There are too many things that have been forgotten over the generations." She looked up at him, "Whose idea was it for you to leave Cybertron?"

"Theirs," Prime answered. "To keep the Matrix safe and to find us more energon."

She held out her hand, "Give me the Matrix, Orion."

"How dare you refer to me by that name," Prime snapped. "I am Optimus Prime. I know you were not around for it but Orion Pax was killed when Megatron shot me point blank in the chest. I was too naïve back then, I trusted too quickly. "

"I'm sorry you were hurt, you're not Prime yet, but I can make you one." She smiled up at him. "I've seen it done a few times."

Optimus could only look at her while his processors raced. Who was she to give him orders? What could she possibly know about the Matrix?

"It will all be clear to you soon," Opal assured him, "if you trust me."

"I did trust you once. Why did you leave?" Prime whispered. Then his sorrow turned to anger, "You know what, don't answer. I know. It's the way of your kind. You go from bot to bot, selling yourselves to the highest bidder, never committing, and all for your own pleasure."

"A statement like that only proves to me that you are not truly a Prime." She looked like she wanted to scream but she managed herself to keep calm. "The reason we left was because of the way things were before your war even started, thought the hostilities were already on the rise. It wasn't an environment we wanted to be in so we fled to the hidden passages within Cybertron."

Prime was also struggling to keep his emotions in check. He had cared about Opal long ago, long before he had met Eleta One. The question was, could he trust her now? He got to his knees so that his optics would be at level with hers, "I loved you. I would have done anything you told me to then."

"I'm sorry that I left you. My kind, we're not meant to be with just one, though it was not unheard of for us to have a favorite. We tried to make things better but the Prime before you would not listen to us. To be honest, I don't think Nova was ever truly a Prime either. I had no choice." Opal smiled, "Trust me now and you will understand everything. Let me help you undo the damage that the council had done."

Thoughts raced through Optimus' mind. He remembered the venomous things that the council had said about the pleasure seeking 'true females'. What if Opal was being deceptive? What if she was actually working for the Decepticons? Their goal was the Matrix. But on the other hand, what if she was being truthful?

After a few moments of contemplation, Prime nodded and opened his chassis to remove the Matrix.

Opal nodded, "At least it is the real thing." She guided his hands so that he was holding it the right way, "Now pull. If you are worthy, it will open." He pulled and the Matrix parted, and the orb inside pulsed and hovered in place. "Open your spark chamber," she instructed.

Spark fluttering in his chest, Prime did as she instructed and the orb shot tendrils of energy into his spark. His optics flickered and he looked at her in confusion. "What's happening?"

"Prima wants to say 'hi'," she answered as his processors went off line.

...

Optimus awoke deep inside himself, but he was not alone. "Hello?" he called out into the emptiness. The presents came closer. "Who's there?"

"Prima," a voice answered.

"How?" Prime looked around, but Prima stayed aloof. "You died a long time ago."

"I am one with the Matrix," Prima answered. "Do you believe yourself to be worthy of the name Prime, Orion?"

"I have no idea why the council chose me, but I believe I can do the job," Optimus answered. "I have been for over four million years."

"They chose you to further fuel their rebellion," Prima responded.

"No," Prime argued. "They were trying to end the rebellion, to bring order to Cybertron."

"Know what I know," Prima declared. "See what I have seen. Join your spark to the Matrix and become the true Prime and no longer a puppet of the council."

Memories of Prima, and of all the Primes that had followed, flooded into Opitmus' mind, knowledge that was lost over the millions of years. He 'remembered' the loneliness that Prima felt after defeating Unicron with the Matrix.

Primus had watched organic worlds and the creatures on them and wanted to give its own creations the same, the ability to create life themselves. Twelve more bots were created, eight male and four female and they were charged with the task of populating the world by creating new sparks. They were created form the body of Primus, Cybertron. They were given an immortal spark cut from the very essence of Primus itself, also known as the All Spark.

The protection of the Matrix was the job Prima, his immortal spark part of the Matrix. But when he grew weary of life he passed it on to a new bot, who rose to be the new Prime. The other twelve original Cybertronians, after millions of years, decided to return to the All Spark. Their descendants continued to thrive and the population of Cybertron continued to grow.

The council did not know that the Matrix was sentient and that their words could be heard. The council were not who they seemed. What they showed to the public was vastly different than what they talked about in private. They took the energon from Cybertron and gave it to a race of creatures called the Quintessons then told the populous that there was a shortage. Cybertron had plenty of energon to last for billions of years. In return, they got power.

They created the division among the Cybertronians. The once equal protoform factories were broken down into class rankings based on location and for the first time the protoforms varied. The council wanted the conflict, suppressing some in hopes of a rebellion. The rebellion was intended to cull the number of Cybertronians so that the Quintessons could easily conquer them. They wanted slaves.

Dread filled Optimus when he heard the memories of the conversation they had over the Matrix when their attempts to destroy it by killing Sentinal Prime had failed. They wanted to get it off of Cybertron and chose Optimus to be Prime believing him to be easily manipulated and because he was the one Megatron had attacked, knowing that it would only fuel Megatron's anger. It took a few million years before they could find a reason for him leave Cybertron. On the surface the reason was to search for energon but in reality it was so that the weapon that was used against Unicron would be gone when the Quintessons could move in.

Cybertron was in trouble. He had to return with the Matrix and save his people.

Prime's processors came back online and he placed the Matrix back in his chassis. Before it felt heavy but, for the first time, it felt right. He felt like he was truly a Prime. "Thank you," he said to Opal. "And, I'm sorry."

"Now that you know," Opal helped him stand, "I need to tell you something."

"What?"

"Tracks is also a Creator," she said flatly. "I don't understand what is going on with Vector Sigma."

"It was the council," Optimus corrected. "They found out, somehow and placed Creator sparks in male chassis to cause more conflict. They were the one to cause it and they were the ones to condemn them and their creations." He shook his head. "This means that Soundwave…."

Opal nodded, "He is a creator."

"And Megatron has him," Prime sighed. "The bad news just keeps coming. He can build his army."

"At least, now, you know the truth."

Prime leaned forward over his desk, "You and Tracks can open the spa and connect with anybot you choose. I'm afraid that I might need the sparks the two of you create to build an army of my own."

A sad smile spread across Opal's face. "It's not that easy. The Sparks will need time to mature."

"We may have no choice. The ones who went off world," Prime stood up. "We will need them as well, if the Quintessons have taken over Cybertron. We're going to be fighting a war on two fronts."

"They fled for a reason, Optimus," Opal pointed out, "they don't want to fight."

"They didn't want to fight in the civil war," Prime argued, "but they might be willing to take up arms to free Cybertron."

"I hope so," Opal sighed. "Or our world is lost."

Wheeljack stood watching several satellite feeds from the local area. He found the humans to be fascinating. Skids entered the room and looked up at the screen. "What are you looking at?"

"The dominate life form on this planet," Wheeljack answered, without taking his optics from the screen.

"Why?" Skids sneered.

Wheeljack shrugged, "I'm a scientist." He pointed at the screen, "Look at what they are doing. It's called 'kissing'."

"That kissing thing does look interesting," Skids admitted. "Maybe I should go find Tracks."

"We don't have the tongues required to do it," Wheeljack pointed out.

"I'm sure Tracks will figure something out," Skids smiled. "That boy likes to experiment."

"You have fun with that," Wheeljack huffed.


	4. Chapter 4

Thundercracker walked into the control room where Starscream was working. The lead Seeker had been working nonstop to get their main computers back up. The rest of his science team were either captured by the Autobots or died in the crash. So he was alone in his endeavor.

It took him a few megacycles but he managed to get it running again. Megatron didn't allow Starscream a moment's rest and pushed him to find a source of energon, which was the reason for Thundercracker's visit.

"I brought you some energon cakes," he said as he approached Starscream.

"Put them over there," Starscream pointed to a nearby table.

"Any luck?"

Looking over his shoulder at his longtime friend, Starscream answered. "We are stuck on an organic ball of dirt with limited resources and we have to use them to make enough energon to get us home. This is a nightmare. I have some ideas to use the underwater currents to create energy but that will take too long for Megatron's liking."

"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Thundercracker attempted to sooth. He could see the strain on Starscream's face. "You should recharge. Have some energon."

With a heavy sigh, Starscream walked over and grabbed a cake. "Megatron will probably want us to scout this world ourselves as opposed to remaining hidden under water."

"I agree," Thundercracker nodded. Megatron wasn't the type to sit idly by. He would want to go out into the world and take what he needed. Of course he wouldn't be reckless with it. Thundercracker suspected that they would have to alter their alt forms and avatars to fit into this world. It wouldn't be the first time they had had to do it. There were plenty of organic planets out in the vast universe. Megatron had even destroyed a few. "I wonder if he will leave this planet in one piece."

"I'm sure he doesn't even know yet," Starscream replied.

Almost as if he was summoned by the fact that they were talking about him, Megatron entered the room. "Starscream, What do you have to report?" He looked at the energon cake in Starscream's hand. "And it better be good."

"We will be able to create energon from this planet's resources," Starscream answered. "The water currents will generate some energy and I have located a pocket of what the indigenous people on this planet call oil. After looking at the chemical composition of the oil I have come to the conclusion that it will be possible to make energon from it as well. There are other pockets of the oil on this world that the indigenous people are unable or unwilling to get to. It will take some time but we should be able to stockpile enough energon to get us off the spinning rock."

"Good," Megatron smiled. "Is there anything else you would like to report?"

"Not at this time," Starscream answered.

Nodding Megatron turned to leave but stopped and looked at Starscream. "I can't help but feel that you are forgetting something."

"I can't think of anything," Starscream replied.

"You did it again," Megatron turned and walked towards Starscream. "Now I wonder if it is intentional or if you are really that stupid. Maybe a little bit of both, hmm?"

Starscream glanced at Thundercracker, searching for a clue. Shaking his head Starscream looked at Megatron. "I don't know."

"You are forgetting the proper way to address me," Megatron growled.

Tilting his head to the side, Starscream's confusion spilled out into his words. "I will remember to properly address you from now on…, Megatron."

Megatron shook his head. "Still not quite right."

Starscream crossed his arms over his chest. "You know, for someone who touts equality for all you sure have put yourself up on a pedestal."

Without warning Megatron struck, backhanding Starscream across the face and sending him to the floor. "Do you need another lesson?" Megatron growled.

"No, Lord Megatron," Starscream answered, keeping his head down and his arm raised, defensively while the other one covered his spark.

A satisfied smirk spread across Megatron's face. Without another word he turned and left. Thundercracker waited a few nanokliks before moving over to help Starscream stand. "Why, Starscream? Why must you always antagonize him?"

Starscream shook his head, "I don't know."

…..

Bumblebee walked in to find Mirage sitting at Teletran One, going through images of humans. "What are you doing?" Bumblebee asked.

Mirage sighed and without looking up answered, "Selecting my avatar. Wheeljack designed them all to be so… plain. I need mine to be unique, special, like me."

"They are plain for a reason, Mirage," Bumblebee said. "We can't stand out in a crowd, we need to blend in and be inconspicuous. Your flamboyance will have to be put on hold for a while."

Mirage turned his head to look at Bumblebee, "Your words hurt."

Bumblebee chuckled, "You'll survive."

Cliffjumper entered the room and held up a jeweled necklace, "How does this look? Do you think the humans will like it?"

They needed supplies to continue repairs and had discovered that they could purchase all that they needed if they sold the gold and gems that they had. They were fortunate that they had a few on hand and that the humans valued them so highly. They just needed to make them into items that they could sell without raising suspicion.

"It's very nice," Bumblebee said as he considered the necklace. "Who would have guesses that Gears was such a talented artist? Hopefully, once we sell what we have we will have enough to buy what we need. How many more do you have to make?"

"Gears has plans for two more necklaces and three rings," Cliffjumper answered.

"Good," Bumblebee nodded. "We will need to break up into teams and sell them at different locations."

"Or you can skip all of that and sell them on a place the humans call, 'online' at a place called, 'ebay'," Mirage chimed in. Bumblebee and Cliffjumper turned to look at him and Mirage shrugged. "What? I've been studying up on the humans. It is only right for someone who is a social elite like myself to know the ins and outs of the local scene, no matter how dreadful."

"I will run that idea by Optimus," Bumblebee said. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Mirage said, turning his attention back to the images on the computer.

…

"Why was it kept a secret?" Tracks asked Opal.

"What?"

"Why wasn't it known that the females were the ones who created the sparks?"

They were studying how to find good connections and Tracks was learning more about the inner workings of a bot than he ever wanted to know. But there were still a lot of unanswered questions that were plaguing him.

Opal shrugged, "It wasn't something that was really a secret, at least it wasn't in the beginning. It was the whole reason the creator sparks were placed in to female forms, so that we could be identified. Problems started when bots showed favoritism to the sparks that they sired. So we stopped telling them which ones were theirs. In time it was forgotten since we kept the whole process out of the view of the males and never told them when an infant spark was formed. We didn't see any reason to remind them, until it was too late."

"Would it really be so harmful to tell the others?" Tracks asked. "If they understood then maybe they will be a little kinder in the way they view us."

"I know you're worried, Tracks, but Optimus knows so we have nothing to worry about."

Tracks looked down at the tablet in his hand and the schematics on the screen reminded him of Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. "How come Sunstreaker and Sideswipe call themselves 'brothers'? Do you think they know?"

Opal shook her head. "They call each other brother because they are rare twin sparks, two sparks that are created with one spark touch. When they are formed they orbit one another within the secondary spark chamber. They are inseparable while in Vector Sigma and are placed in protoforms at the same time. The protoforms then emerge at the same time and the basic instinct that is driven by the spark keeps them together. It became common practice to call such bots 'brothers', one of the few things that hadn't been forgotten."

"Interesting," Tracks mumbled, looking back down at the tablet.

"Warning though," Opal said, causing Tracks to look up. "A spark touch with a twin spark increases your chances of having twin sparks so make sure you have room for two. And remember that even though you can spark touch every time now, doesn't mean that you should. Make it a rare treat. It takes a toll on us and drains our sparks a little to make a new one. It needs time to regenerate. Do it too often you can weaken your spark to the point that it will no longer be able to support your body and return to the All Spark."

Tracks nodded, "I understand. Limit the spark touch." He continued his studies as Opal analyzed some oil samples. He was fascinated to learn that no matter the size of the bot, the sparks were all the same size. The amount of energy that a spark created determined the size of the bot. A weaker spark in a large bot frame would be unable to sustain the life. A stronger spark in a small body would… be like Frenzy, a lot of energy with nowhere to go. For the first time, Tracks felt sorry for Soundwave's creation.

"What will happen to the infant spark within me?" Tracks asked. "Will I have to make a body for it? I warn you, I have no skill in making bodies."

"The sparks we create will be placed in to protoforms," Opal answered. She looked up as Tracks placed his hand over the secondary spark chamber. "It will be alright." She stood, holding a vile of oil. "I think I found the oil we need to run the spa. Do you want to run it to Prowl for me?"

"Sure," Tracks placed the tablet on a nearby table. "I need a break." He took the small container from her and headed out of the room but stopped just outside the door and looked back. "I don't have a roommate anymore. He died in the crash. Do you want to move into my habitat suite with me? That way it will be just us girls."

Opal chuckled, "I would like that, thank you."

…

Out of all his seekers, Starscream only trusted Thundercracker and Skywarp. They had been with him for most of his life, meeting back when they were still protoforms and they had remained loyal to him. Dirge, Ramjet, and Thrust were loyal only to Megatron. So when Starscream picked up a faint distress signal coming from the frozen north, he entrusted Thundercracker and Skywarp to go with him to investigate.

It was a familiar signal, one he had not seen since his years in Nova Cronum. He told Megatron that he was going to investigate a potential pocket of the crude oil. One that was impossible for the humans to get to due to the sub-freezing temperatures.

The three seekers had taken on the form of old military jets and had used Soundwave to hack into the communications grid so that they would have the freedom they needed to fly. They used the guise of history enthusiasts who had restored some old army jets. They stayed low, below commercial airspace and followed the instructions of the humans in the air traffic control rooms.

They had nothing to fear from the people of this small, primitive planet but they knew that the Autobots were lying in wait, ready to attack if they stepped out of line. So they stayed inconspicuous and hidden.

It took them nearly an entire rotation of the planet to reach their destination. And when they transformed it was painfully obvious that the cold might prove too much to them as well. "Quickly," Starscream ordered pointing to the hard ice. "We need to dig him up before we freeze ourselves."

The three seekers worked to break away a thick lair of ice to reveal the frozen bot underneath. The question was, was he still alive?


	5. Chapter 5

Starscream and his seekers carried their find from the frozen north to a warmer climate. Their old friend was still alive but only barely. His spark was weak from the many years of his energon being frozen. He had disappeared a few thousands of years before the death of Sentinal Prime, before the start of the war. They believed that he was dead.

As they carried him further south, the hard part was staying out of sight. Three jets in the sky were hard enough to keep from looking suspicious, but add to that a giant robot being towed between them and that was bound to attract attention. So they made sure to stay away from any areas populated by humans.

They set him down in a heavily wooded area and waited for his core temperature to warm up. It was still cold where they were but at least it was above freezing. Starscream transformed and sat next to his friend. "Please be alive, Jetfire."

They were close friends during Starscream's time in Nova Cronum. Very close. Jetfire was from Uraya but didn't look down on the three young seekers, instead he treated them as equals. Starscream admired him. Jetfire left to search out more energon but was never heard from again. Soon after that, the council started in on their stricter regulations and Starscream was kicked out of Nova Cronum. And then the uprising started.

"I can't believe he's been here all this time," Thundercracker said, kneeling down on the other side of Jetfire. "If it weren't for the war, we might have been able to search for him."

"Megatron's gonna be pissed if we don't get back soon," Skywarp warned.

"We did the survey that we said we were coming out to do," Starscream reminded him. "I've already worked out how we are going to get the fuel out from under all of that ice. And we're bringing him back a new soldier. What is there to be angry about?"

"What makes you so sure that Jetfire is going to choose the side of the Decepticons?" Skywarp asked. "Jetfire was against violence and he loved organic life forms. How do you think he's going to feel knowing that Megatron killed off a few of his favorite organic worlds? Megatron is a ruthless killer. I really don't think Jetfire is gonna wanna throw in with him."

"Maybe if I explain the situation," Starscream tried to argue but Thundercracker shook his head.

"You know as well as I do that if Jetfire was around for the start of the war, he would have joined the Autobots. He was a privileged bot. He didn't see the universe the way we did. Turn his beacon back on. Let the Autobots find him."

"He is our friend," Starscream snapped. "Do you really want him on the side of our enemy?"

"Do you really want him to be subjected to Megatron," Skywarp countered. "Remember what he has done to you. Imagine what he will do to Jetfire."

Starscream sighed, placing his head on Jetfire's chest. "I don't…. Can you give me a moment?"

"Yeah," Skywarp nodded and left with Thundercracker.

Starscream moved up Jetfire's large form so that he was closer to Jetfire's head. Leaning down, he pressed his forehead to Jetfire's. "I hope one day, when this war is over, you will understand why I fought on the side of the Decepticons and that you will forgive me. If I led the Decepticons, things would have been different. I tried but no one would listen to me. Megatron is a fool but they all rally to him anyway. He's the reason this war exists, that so many have died. One day I will overthrow him and the Decepticons will finally fight the noble fight. The real reason we banded together. Equality."

Jetfire's optics flashed but he remained dormant. Starscream had no idea if Jetfire could hear him or not. He reached down and turned on Jetfire's beacon. "I love you," he whispered and then stood up. "Alright, let's go," he yelled before transforming and taking to the air.

…

"This is the place," Bumblebee said as he pulled up to the building. His voice came in loud and clear over Ironhide's radio. The two generals were given the task of picking up the parts that they were able to order over the internet but were unable to have delivered to the Ark. Ironhide was given the added task of pulling a trailer to haul the supplies.

Ironhide's door opened and his avatar stepped out. He had chosen a middle aged, fair skinned, man with a medium build, brown eyes and brown hair. They wanted inconspicuous and unable to stand out in a crowd, so that was what he had selected. He wasn't like Mirage, looks meant little to him so long as it got the job done.

Bumblebee, however, decided to go with a younger, sleeker human form for his avatar. It was also male but had a more olive complexion, black hair and green eyes. Bumblebee had selected the name 'Brian' for his avatar and was supposed to call Ironhide's 'Steve'.

The day before, the two had worked on their conversation skills through the avatars, making sure that their movements were fluid and believable. Wheeljack watched them interact, giving pointers every so often. The ship's mechanic had spent a lot of his free time watching the human's television programming. He said it was all in the name of research but Ironhide suspected that he found it to be entertaining as well. It wouldn't be the first time for him to get addicted to an organic culture's form of entertainment.

Brian was dressed better attire than Steve since they were playing that Brian was the buyer and Steve was the hired help. Ironhide had not problems letting Bumblebee take the lead on this mission.

"Ready?" Bumblebee asked as they walked up to the building. "This is the make it or break it point."

"It's not like this is our first time using avatars to interact with organic life," Ironhide pointed out.

"Yeah," Bumblebee agreed then added, "but, usually, the ones we are interacting with know what we are."

"It will be fine," Ironhide waved his hand, brushing Bumblebee's concern aside. "All we gotta do is show our order form and get the stuff then leave."

"I hope you're right," Bumblebee sighed then knocked on the door.

They didn't have to wait long before the door opened to reveal a portly man with dark brown skin and a shaved head. He looked bored with his line of work and simply held out his hand then said, "Papers."

Without a word, Bumblebee handed them over. The man looked them over then nodded, "Garage number three is where all your stuff is being held. Do you need help loading it?"

"That won't be necessary," Bumblebee shook his head and hoped that it looked natural. "I have someone here to help with all of that."

"I'll open it up then," the man handed the paperwork back to Bumblebee then closed the door. A few moments later the garage with a large number three painted on it, opened.

Bumblebee looked at Ironhide, "I guess it will be easier if you backed the trailer up to the garage."

"Good idea," Ironhide said and then turned to walk back to where they were parked. He maneuvered the trailer, backing up the driveway so that the trailer opening was as close to the mouth of the garage as possible.

Meanwhile, Bumblebee was in the garage, looking over the purchased supplies. He was looking through one of the crates as Ironhide walked in. "I will finally be at ease once we get this stuff loaded and back to the… uh… station."

"I think we'll be okay," Ironhide tried to reassure him. The Decepticons had been keeping themselves low profile for the time being, a fact that had Optimus worried. It wasn't like Megatron. He had destroyed worlds for less than what he was after on this one. Ironhide reached down and lifted one of the crates, "But, let's get this done as quickly as possible anyway."

"I agree," Bumblebee nodded, closing the crate he was inspecting.

As they carried their first load to the trailer, Ironhide noticed a green construction vehicle drive past. Something about it didn't set right with him so he picked up his pace. Bumblebee noticed Ironhide's haste and followed suit.

Bumblebee placed a crate into the trailer just as another green construction vehicle passed. "I'm going to alert the others," he said and headed to where he was parked.

"Right," Ironhide nodded and turned to head back into the garage to get another crate. As he walked up he heard one of the employees telling another about an old tape deck that he had found.

…

Tracks sat parked a few blocks away from where Bumblebee and Ironhide were picking up the supplies with Prowl parked on the other side of the street. Tracks had selected a female avatar, it just felt right, but he was starting to regret it. He had thought that the female he had selected was average looking. She had a dark complexion, dark long hair, and brown eyes. The clothes she had on were not too tight and covered her slender form.

All he was doing was sitting at a coffee shop, reading a book and drinking coffee but the human males continued to flirt with him. Some simply cat called him as they passed. It took all of his control to keep from punching a few of them in the face.

Tracks' cell phone started to ring and he reached in his pocket to answer it. It wasn't really a cell phone, simply a communicator that was disguised as a cell phone. It was an open communicator with all of the Autobots who were on standby, just in case anything went wrong with the pickup.

As soon a Tracks answered, Bumblebee's voice came through the device. "Be on alert. We believe we have seen a few Decepticons in the area." There was a moment of silence then Bumblebee yelled, "Correction. Decepticons are here!"

Prowl was off like a rocket before Tracks could even stand. Tracks managed to take a few steps before his hand was grabbed by a human male. "Where you off to in such a hurry?" Unbelievable. Tracks pulled his hand out of the man's grasp and continued on his way. "Why you gotta be that way, baby? I just want to be friends. Where did you get a car like that?" the man called out as Tracks started his engine.

It was a short drive to the location and when he got there, the action was already in full swing. Soundwave stood back while Rumble and Frenzy attacked Bumblebee. Frenzy lived up to his name, moving a bout like he had gone mad. Tracks used to believe that Frenzy was that way because he was a poorly built Sub-bot and that his madness was only proof that the council was right about the sparks created by those like Soundwave. But now he understood that Frenzy's spark belonged in a much larger body. It was the fact that it was confined to such a small body that drove him mad.

Prowl was fighting with Longhaul while Scrapper fought with Ironhide. At least all six of the combiners weren't there for the fight. It was bad enough that there were giant robots fighting in the streets but Devastator would be seen for miles. They didn't need a crowd of humans endangering themselves in their attempts to catch the moment on their phones.

Tracks had a sinking feeling that they weren't going to remain hidden from the humans for too much longer. To make matters worse, as Tracks transformed, he noticed that the employees all had their cell phones out, taking videos of the action. The fools were going to get themselves killed if they stayed too close.

But, that was the least of their worries. Even though Soundwave stood back from the action, he was there and Tracks wasn't going to let the opportunity to go by. Tracks raced through the action on a direct course to Soundwave.

He managed to avoid Rumble and Frenzy then stopped just out of arm's reach from Soundwave. Holding up his hands, Tracks spoke, "Prime is sympathetic to what you are. Come back with us to the Ark and the sparks you create will be placed in protoforms. They won't be Sub-bots."

Soundwave took aim but Tracks was able to roll out of the way before he was able to fire a shot. Tracks rolled to his feet and looked up at Soundwave. "So we're not going to talk about this? You're going to stay with Megatron? I understand why you went with the Decepticons from the start but Opitmus isn't like the council. You and the sparks you create won't be deprived of your rights."

Without a word, Soundwave shot again and Tracks dodged it.

"Fine," Tracks huffed. "I gave you your chance. But I will not let Megatron build his army." He moved in close to Soundwave and the two grappled. From what Tracks understood, the secondary spark chamber was located in the same spot for all creators. So that was where he took aim.

As they all fought, Starscream and his seekers flew down to grab the crates. Ironhide managed to break away from his fight with Scrapper long enough to shoot Thundercracker before he was able to hook the trailer.

Skywarp fired into the group just as Rumble started to shake the ground, causing everyone to fall over. In the momentary confusion Tracks pulled out a small energy blade and plunged it into Soundwave's right side, right where the secondary spark chamber should have been.

With a cry of panic, Soundwave kicked Tracks, sending him back and on top pf Rumble. Soundwave got to his feet and inspected the damaged area. "Murderer," Soundwave roared and opened fire on the Autobots. Tracks was able to move out of the way and the shot meant for him hit Rumble. "No!" Grabbing Rumble, Soundwave took to the sky with Frenzy following after him.

"Where are you going," Starscream called out after him. "Leave the Sub-bot to die. We haven't got what we came for yet."

"And you're not going to get it," Tracks said, firing up at Starscream.

Freed from his fight with Rumble and Frenzy, Bumblebee got to his feet and joined Tracks in firing up at the three jets.

"We're not going back empty handed," Starscream bellowed. He dropped down and managed to hook one of the crates before flying away. "Let's go."

As the other Decepticons ran off, Bumblebee looked up at Tracks. "Why would Soundwave react like that to a simple side wound? It's not like there are any vital circuits there. And what did he mean by calling you a murderer?"

Tracks' hand settled over the secondary spark chamber within him and he wondered if Soundwave had had any infant sparks within his. Looking down at Bumblebee, Tracks lied, "I don't know."

"That's not important now," Prowl said, pointing to the humans. "We've been exposed."

"Should we confiscate their devices?" Bumblebee asked.

"It's likely that whatever video they've taken is already on the internet. Let's get the supplies and get out of here," Ironhide said rushing back over to the garage. "We can handle the publicity later."

They loaded the rest of the supplies into the trailer and hitched it back onto Ironhide. They managed to leave the area just as the police sirens could be heard in the distance. It wasn't like the humans had the ability to stop the four Autobots from leaving. They just didn't want to deal with the drama.

It was a long drive back to the Ark and the four Autobots did it in silence. Tracks listened to the news over the airways for any mention of them and he knew that the others were doing the same.

It took less than an hour for every radio station to start reporting on the large robots and their fight in front of a storage facility. The grainy cell phone footage was being aired on several television stations and was flooding the internet.

Prowl had already messaged the Ark with his report of the situation so the news was not a surprise for them. Prime was probably already starting to work out what to do next.

As they drove, Tracks couldn't help but feel guilt over what he had done to Soundwave. He kept telling himself that it was for the greater good but he knew that he had just doomed any spark that Soundwave created to die as soon as it was brought to life. Was it better that they die than to fall into the hands of Megatron?

He knew one thing for sure. Opal was going to be angry.


	6. Chapter 6

Soundwave wasn't one of Starscream's favorite Decepticons but there was a level of mutual respect before. They had both faced cruelty and joined the Decepticons in hopes of a better Cybertron. That all changed when Soundwave flew off due to a simple side wound. Granted that the communications expert was attacked and there might be a level of mental scarring but it was not his first fight or battle wound. What was it about that wound that set him off? And what did he mean when he yelled out, 'Murderer'?

The science bot sought out Soundwave. If he was going to report a failed mission to Megatron, he was going to have the reason it had failed by his side. If anyone was going to be punished for what had happened, it was not going to be Starscream. At least he managed to grab one crate of supplies before they all had to flee. Hopefully that will be enough to keep Megatron from ripping out their servos.

Starscream found Soundwave in the medical bay. Rumble stood nearby, his charred breast plate showing the signs of being shot but he was functioning and was not the reason Soundwave was there. Soundwave looked like he was trying to repair his own wound but, to Starscream, it looked like he was making it worse. Energon leaked from the now gaping wound as Soundwave dug into his side.

"What are you doing?" Starscream demanded.

"Repair," Soundwave answered without looking up.

He had to have lost his mind. There was nothing vital in that area. Starscream stepped closer to Soundwave but the Sub-bots stepped between them. "Back off," Frenzy warned as Ravage hissed. Frenzy's small body twitched and jerked as he glared up at Starscream. "Get too close and I'll rip your spark out with my bare hands."

Starscream scoffed and resisted the urge to kick Frenzy out of the way. He might have been small but he was fierce and Starscream wasn't up for a fight. "I am one of the only surviving medical officers," Starscream pointed out. "I can fix whatever damage that Autobot caused and any subsequential damage Soundwave caused trying to fix it himself. Or would you rather I go get Mixmaster to help?"

Soundwave looked up at Starscream and held out the energon slicked tools. "Help," he pleaded.

"Call back your pets," Starscream snarled.

Soundwave looked at his creations, "Back."

Rumble pulled Frenzy back as Ravage moved away to curl up in a nearby corner. "I'm watching you," Frenzy warned.

"Get up on the table," Starscream said as he set up his tools.

Soundwave did as he was told, lying on his back. Starscream looked the wound over and was taken aback for a moment. He didn't fully understand what he was seeing. "What is this?" He placed his hand on the damaged compartment and moved closer to study how it was connected. Starscream knew the inner workings of bots and where every part was supposed to go. This compartment wasn't something that was supposed to be there. "Did you do this to yourself?"

"No," Soundwave answered.

"Did someone else do this to you?" Starscream asked, looking up at Soundwave.

"No."

"You emerged with this?"

"Yes."

"Do you know its function?"

Soundwave looked at his creations and answered, "Sparks."

Starscream looked over at the Sub-bots then back down at the chamber. "This is how you create them?" He wasn't going to let the chance to examine the chamber pass. Sure it was damaged but not so much that Starscream couldn't figure out how it functioned.

Small probes showed that it connected directly to Soundwave's spark chamber. The whole system was protected with the same spark containing elements as a spark chamber. The more he studied it, the more it all seemed familiar. "I've seen this set up before."

Soundwave looked up at Starscream. "Opal."

Starscream shook his head. "I never had a chance to study her. No…. It was a long time ago." He placed his hand on Soundwave's chest. "The sparks are created when you touch sparks. Aren't they."

"Yes," Soundwave nodded.

"In essence… you're female," Starscream said, lost in thought. "Your spark was placed in the wrong kind of body. Your spark was meant for a female body."

"Explain," Soundwave prompted Starscream.

"I don't know how I know," Starscream whispered. "It's like the information is there but not."

"Your memories, suppressed." Soundwave offered. He reached out to Starscream and thin rods emerged from his fingertips. "Retrieve."

Starscream pulled back and he carefully pushed Soundwave's hand away. "You want me to let you probe into my brain?" Starscream had forgotten that Soundwave had several ways to collect information. The mind probe he was proposing wasn't one he liked to use often. There were too many risks.

"Yes."

"Why should I trust you?"

Soundwave lifted his hand again. "Unlock answers. I help you, you help me."

Starscream leaned forward, "Just access the suppressed memories. Nothing more."

"Agreed," Soundwave said as he began the mind probe.

It was a strange sensation but at the same time, not unfamiliar. Why was a brain probe familiar? Starscream had never done one before. Or maybe he had. Memories could not be erased but they could be locked away. One by one Soundwave unlocked them and the memories came rushing back.

"Those Autobot scum," Starscream growled. "The council is to blame. Now I remember why I was really kicked out of Nova Cronum. I was doing historical research." He felt the probes exit his mind and he stood up. "I discovered some old documents of lineage. I thought it was strange. We didn't breed. Our sparks came from Primus. But that was wrong. I discovered that we do breed and that a spark touch with the females created new sparks. It was information long forgotten. I took it to the council… They had me do more research. They wanted to know if the female spark could be placed in a male form. I did so much work for them. When I was done, they locked those memories away then kicked me out."

He looked down at Soundwave, "Lucky for you. I know how to repair you. I built your protoform."

...

Ratchet stood at Optimus' side and the leader of the Autobots spoke to the government leaders of the North American nation. It wasn't going well. Apparently the humans didn't like the idea of giant robotic aliens hiding out on their planet and putting people in danger.

The little altercation with the Decepticons the other day caused a great deal of problems. Since they were exposed, Megatron no longer cared to remain hidden which caused the Autobots to expose themselves more often to protect the humans.

Lest than an Earth week had passed and the humans started to demand that they get an audience with them. Optimus agreed that they were owed an explanation and set up an interview.

"Why did you bring your war here?" one of the men asked.

"It was not our intention," Optimus tried to explain. "We were searching for more energy resources. When we originally crashed here, your people were primitive and there were no signs of intelligent civilizations anywhere."

"How long have you been here?" another man asked.

"We crashed here around a million of your years ago," Wheeljack answered. "The crash caused us to go in to stasis until some recent seismic activity caused our systems to come back online."

"The Decepticons escaped," Prime added. "I had hoped that they would remain covert and collect the energy they needed to get off world and leave without incident. It appears that I was hoping for too much. I don't know what Megatron plans but I promise you that we will not abandon your people to suffer his wrath."

"Suffer his wrath?" the first man repeated. "How do I know that this isn't some ruse you've cooked up to get our fuel and that you aren't actually in league with these… Decepticons?"

Because if they were as bad as these people feared them to be there would be nothing stopping them from getting what they wanted, Ratchet thought to himself. True they had weapons that could hurt them but nothing grand enough to kill them. Without the Autobots keeping them in check, the Decepticons would destroy this planet in their energy acquisition, all facts that Ratchet knew better than to blurt out.

Prime glanced over at Ratchet as if beseeching him for strength to get through it, before answering. "I guess, in reality, there really is no way to prove we mean you no harm that wouldn't put your world in danger. If the Autobots and I leave and the Decepticons remain then you will see the truth."

"What do you want us to do," the one woman in the group spoke up. "How do we avoid this Megatron from killing millions of innocent people and bleeding our world dry of our resources?"

"Usually in these situations the Autobots form an alliance with the planet's leaders," Ratchet answered. "But this would be the first time we would attempt an alliance with a planet that is as divided as yours is."

"My biggest fear is the Decepticons forming an alliance with this country's enemies just to cause more conflict." Wheeljack added. "A divided planet is easy to conquer. He's done it before. The end results were not good."

"Well then, this planet is doomed," the woman sighed. "If what you are saying is true, there are plenty of dictators out there who will ally themselves with the Decepticons if they are promised more power."

"We will do our best to keep your planet safe," Optimus promised. "I am sorry that you have been brought into this. We just want to get back home."


	7. Chapter 7

"I can't believe you did that," Opal said, pounding Tracks on the chest. "You slag filled husk of rust. He must have been devastated. How would you feel if someone did that to you?"

"I felt awful," Tracks admitted. In fact the guilt was still gnawing at his insides and the pain in Soundwave's voice still echoed in his head. "But I couldn't let Megatron have all of those infant sparks."

"No," Opal's tone was bitter. "You condemned any spark he created to death."

"He doesn't have to touch sparks with anyone," Tracks countered.

"You don't understand his situation over there," Opal snapped back. "Other than his creations, he has no friends. His only choice is to submit to the other Decepticons because he fears what they will do to them."

"If it's so bad for him there then why did he chose to stay? Why didn't he take my offer and come with me?"

"Because it was the Autobots and their council who condemned him and his creations from the start," Opal explained. "He was the first of his kind to be discovered. He was attacked for it. He had three sparks in his secondary spark chamber and they were destroyed. He sided with the Decepticons because he believes in what they say they are fighting for. Megatron has promised him so much and so Soundwave is loyal to him. He tolerates what he has to because he believes that, in the end, it will all be worth it."

Tracks looked at the ground and sighed. "I wonder where I would be if I had known what I am before the war. If I had suffered the way he had."

"Who knows," Opal shrugged. Tracks could see that she was still mad but she let the issue drop, for now. "What is important now is that we put an end to this war and save our world." She looked around the spa. "I think we are ready to open. So the least we can do now is offer support for the Autobots. Maybe they will come to their senses before it is too late."

Tracks managed a smile. "I'll go out and tell some of the others." He left the spa, eager to be away from her anger.

He walked through the ship's corridors and saw how some areas were coming along in their repairs. It almost looked as good as it did before they left Cybertron. As he passed one area he had to stop. Mirage was in the ship's refreshment area, cleaning it up. It wasn't like the pampered bot to get his hands dirty with physical labor.

"What are you doing?" Tracks asked as he entered the room.

Mirage looked up from his work, "Prime said that if I clean this place up then I can turn it into a bar."

"A bar?" Tracks looked around the room. "Why would you want to open a bar?"

"Why would you want to take part in the spa?" Mirage asked in return. He then waved his hand to dismiss any answer Tracks was about to give. Mirage looked around the room as he spoke. "I want to do something to help the others relax and unwind. Thanks to the Decepticons, I have a feeling that we are going to be stuck on this planet for a long time. We might as well make the best of it. Besides, I've been running my own tests on the different fuels on this world and I think I have come up with new drinks that I can serve the others."

"Well if you ever need a break," Tracks said, "the spa is ready to open. You can get a nice hot oil bath and a good cleaning."

"And you will be working at the spa?" Mirage asked, glancing over at Tracks.

"Yeah," Tracks nodded. "Opal has taught me a lot. I won't be able to do everything she can but I will be able to do some things to help the others relax." Tracks held up his hands, "I don't have the delicate tools in my fingers like she does. Mostly I'll be assisting."

Mirage stood and walked over to Tracks. "Did she teach you how to get better connections? You will be like the spas back home, right?"

"She has," Tracks answered, smiling at his friend. "And we will. Prime is alright with it. It's actually easy once you know what to look for."

Mirage placed his hand on Tracks' chest. "Do you think you could connect us? I could use a little break after all of this work. And it's been too long since I was able to find a good connection with someone." Before Tracks could respond, Mirage's hand moved down and grabbed hold of Tracks'. "Let's go to the back room."

"Alright," Tracks said and allowed Mirage to pull him into the back.

The back room was full of tanks with energon and other fuels. All of the Autobots' energon reserve and whatever they were able to get from the humans seemed to have been kept in there. It showed the level of trust Prime had in Mirage to take care of the precious commodity.

Mirage pinned Tracks against the wall and pressed in close, opening his chest plate. Like Tracks, Mirage was from Iacon so their circuits were similar. Back on Cybertron, Mirage was also being groomed for the council and was nearly half a millennia ahead of Tracks in his training. He had become one of Tracks' mentors and they quickly became friends. Mirage was old enough to remember what Cybertron was like before the war, even before the rebellion had started.

Tracks opened his chest plate and got to work connecting to Mirage. Before, they were only able to achieve two connections but achieving more was easy to do now that Tracks understood how they all worked. Once Tracks reached five connections, Mirage leaned in and husked, "More."

They didn't have to stop at five. It was just all that was required to achieve a spark touch. Since he wasn't intending on touching sparks with Mirage, Tracks indulged Mirage by finding three more connections. Mirage pressed up against Tracks as the pleasurable sensations continued to build between them.

"Open your spark chamber," Mirage requested, pressing his forehead against Tracks'. Tracks remembered Opal's words, warning Tracks not to indulge himself in a spark touch too often. But Mirage was his close friend so he opened his chamber up anyway and allowed Mirage access.

It wasn't as shocking an experience as his first time but it was still enough to cloud Tracks' mind. He held on to Mirage as the shockwaves of pleasure coursed through him, increasing with each pulsating beat. When he reached his peak, Tracks' legs buckled but Mirage managed to hold him up. And then it was done.

Tracks moved to disconnect them but Mirage stayed pressed in close. "I frequented the spas before the females went into hiding. It was my favorite past time, even though they didn't always let me touch sparks with them. When they left I managed to find a male with whom I was able to touch sparks but it wasn't the same. I've been with a few other males over the millennia and they all felt different from the females. A commoner who had never been able to afford the spa wouldn't be able to tell but I could. I still can."

He move in closer and kept his voice low. "I know what you are. How could you lie to me? I thought we were friends."

"I just found out," Tracks said, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. "I was too afraid to say anything to anyone."

"Of course you're afraid," Mirage replied. "Who knows what the others will say once they find out. Though, to be honest, the way you have conducted yourself has left several of them suspicious. Your kind always seems to be a little loose when it comes to partners. Like the females, you just whore yourselfers out. Have you started to make those abominations?"

"The sparks that I can create are no different than your spark," Tracks argued, his voice trembling from the pain caused my Mirage's words.

"That's what all of your kind say," Mirage growled. "My spark was cut from Primus. I am pure. The sparks you create are unnatural. It goes against Primus' design."

"No," Tracks tried to push Mirage off. "Those are the lies of the council. Only the original thirteen were cut from Primus. Your spark was created like any other, through spark touch."

"You create sparks through spark touch?" Mirage pulled back. "Did you make one from our spark touch? Just now?"

Tracks shook his head, "I don't think so but it's still all new to me. I'll have to check to make sure."

"I don't want to have any part in your creations," Mirage said, disconnecting himself from Tracks. "It's not natural."

"Did you not listen to me? All sparks are created through spark touch," Tracks snapped. "All of them. The females have creator sparks. That was their purpose, to create life. But somehow I ended up with one. My protoform emerged from Iacon as well," Tracks said, pointing to himself. "I was being groomed to be a council member, just like you."

"You would have been put in your place the moment the council discovered what you were," Mirage said in disgust. "You would have never been allowed to join the council."

"Put in my place?" Tracks repeated in disbelief. "How can you still be talking like that? You have been fighting beside bots from all over Cybertron. You have formed friendships with bots from Kalis."

"They fight knowing that when the war is over they will all return to their places," Mirage said. "It is the Autobot way and I still believe in it. There is an order to things. Protoforms emerge from their factories when there is a need for them. Those who come from Kalis need to remain is Kalis. That's what they were made for. If they try to move up then that takes the jobs from the ones who were made in the factories in those locations, and they can't do the job as well as the ones designed for it."

"You're right," Tracks sat down on the floor and looked up at his friend. "Primus knows when a new bot is needed to fill a job and a protoform emerges. But the spark comes from Vector Sigma and Vector Sigma is filled with the sparks created by the females. New protoforms were emerging almost daily down in the mining colonies. You and I are nearly half a million years apart and there were no protoforms to emerge from Iacon between us. There are bots who are living longer because of the war than they would have if they had done the job they were designed for. I don't believe in the Decepticon way but the time that has passed has showed me that there was more that the council could have done for Cybertron as a whole. I know one thing for sure. When this war is over I hope I will be able to be on the council and I will make sure that all bots are cared for so they won't feel the need to leave the life they are destined for."

Mirage slid down the wall to sit on the floor next to Tracks. Cradling his head in his hands, Mirage let out a deep sigh. "I want to make Cybertron better for them too. Before the war I never would have considered a friendship with someone other than a bot out of Iacon. I thought you were crazy for admiring Jazz like you did." Tracks must have had a look of surprise because Mirage laughed. "It was obvious how you felt about him. And back then I looked down on you for it. But today…, I don't know. I can't imagine my life without bots like Ironhide in it."

Tracks nudged Mirage, "It's amazing how much we've changed."

They sat in silence for a moment and then Mirage looked over at Tracks. "We have. And… I think I have changed enough to accept this new revelation." He considered Tracks for a moment before asking, "So how do you make sparks and does this mean that you are actually… female?"

Tracks felt himself smile and he shook his head. "I don't feel like a female. I would prefer to be referred to as 'him'." He placed his hand over his secondary spark chamber. "I will create sparks randomly through spark touch and they will mature in a small chamber in my body. Do you want to see the one I have?" Mirage nodded and Tracks opened the chamber to show him.

Mirage leaned in to look at the small spark. "If it takes a spark touch to make them and that one isn't mine, who helped you make it?"

Tracks placed his hand behind his head and chuckled, "Jazz."

Mirage joined in the laughter. "I guess it's a dream come true for you." When their laughter died, Mirage asked. "If all sparks come from spark touch, why didn't we know about it? Why the secrecy?"

Closing the chamber, Tracks leaned against the wall and looked up. "Do you have time for a long story?"

"Sure," Mirage nodded, leaning back against the wall. "I've got some time."


End file.
